Acing Job Interviews

Speedreading Rules.

MS-NBC proved you can destroy a career in two-minutes by being honest,

straight-forward and showing your true colors. When you go for a job interview
or speak out in public – you can win friends and influence people, or have folks
shaking their head thinking – What-an-oxymoron we got in front of our eyes.

Hardball with Chris Mathews wiped out a U.S. Congressman with a single question.
Do you believe in Evolution? Up to then the guy appeared as ambiguous as other
interviewees – he answered all the questions without offending or standing for
anything. He was a Congressional clone.

Don’t we all assume after the 44th President destroyed the Republican party, if
you belong to the minority party, you stifle yourself about stem cells research,
Guantanimo-torture, and Religion?

Just get laryngitis about those subjects, and smile a lot. It aint a liberal or
conservative strategy, it just shows your brain synapses are still firing, and your
neural networks have not disintegrated.

This mug pulls out his mental New Testament and makes sure to give the Divinity
full credit for creating us, the world and the little critters. He stood up for
Creationism and little kids deciding for themselves. Huh?

Would you trust a six, seven, or ten year old to decide if Charlie Darwin was correct
or maybe not? Mathews proceeded to melt him like the Wicked Witch of the West
in Oz. The Congressman needs a new line of work. So what?

Code Words on Job Interviews

1. Never speak to the HR (Human Resources) department for a position beyond

office intern or assistant for janitorial services. They know less than nothing,
are mechanical, and do not make hires. Speak only to the head of the
department you will work in. Yes, you always have a choice.

How do you get past HR? It is your first creative challenge. Discover her
name, find her email address, and telephone extension. Do a mini-interview
before you ever meet. If you are intimidated and snooze – you lose.

2. Never, (nunca, nada) hand them your Resume or even use the word
R-e-s-u-m-e. It is boring, full of as many lies as the applicant thinks
he/she can get away with, and dehumanizes you. Set fire to your beautiful
parchment letters, and get the hire. Your face and experience is your resume.

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3. Never (ever) mention the word – J-O-B. You don’t want a measly, degrading
job, which is imprisonment within a cubicle for one-third of your life.
Say, I-am-here-to make-your-company MONEY, Moola, Dinero, or Gelt.

Imagine you are the head of her department: what would it take to convince,
persuade, and influence you to hire the banana sitting in front of you?

4. Oh yeah, we are all in sales. If you are a lawyer, accountant or engineer,

you are in sales. Why? You have to convince your company partners you
deserve a promotion, not to fire you, and offer more bread for your labor.

If you are a divisional v.p. you have to sell yourself to the president, CEO,
and later to the Board of Directors. We are always selling our ideas and
ourselves, so consider yourself a professional sales person.

4. Figure out your unique competitive advantages over your peers. Express
them dramatically in the interview. Stop being boring and a clone.

One of our graduates emailed me – he was unemployed for

six months, his age was 56, and he had been shot down by 21 past
interviewers.

Example

He figured out how to see the computer department manager, and spent the
interview discussing not IT, but his speed reading skills (including memory).

Our grad forcefully showed he could learn the job in a single day because he
could read and remember three (3) books, articles and reports in the time the
other stiffs could hardly finish one. The company saved money getting the
new kid on the block into synch, and not two weeks to train him to work.

It was not the fact that he was a super IT genius with tons of experience, but
that our guy had personal productivity like he had twin brains. He was
likeable, smart, and had something special to offer the company.

Our speed-reader was offered the executive slot at the end of thirty minutes,
for 40% more money than he had ever earned in his IT career. Why? Our
guy was human, lively, and offered special skills that could produce profits
for the company. WIIFM? What is in it for me – refers to the company.

The other 25 interviews relied on their fancy, inhuman resumes, and

groveling for the position. They sounded like an expense, while our guy came
across as a potential revenue producer.

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 Interviewing is tedious and a grind, so make yourself interesting to talk to
(arouse curiosity). You have it in you to win the prize. You just need this new
strategy and remember not to sound like a robot – cyborg – automaton.

Coda:

You are going to work for a minimum of five (5) different organizations (companies)
during your business career. Do you know who your real boss is? You, because
wherever you move, it is your personality and skills that decide your value to the
organization. Being average and normal is for scared teenagers, not successful execs.

My experience is that you can change your mental set at any age or stage of your
career. In weak economic times, companies want more for their money. Ask
yourself what makes you stand out from your peers. Show 21st century skills.

All those interviewing for executive positions are competent, and have extensive
experience. So what? That does not bring home the bacon. What new skills have
you encoded in your brain in the past few years? Show them your growing better.

A expert is defined as one who has ten years of knowledge, or 10,000 hours of
experience, or 30,000 Chunks of specific information about her specialty, in her 3
pound coconut. In one paragraph, show-and-tell what makes you special and a
must-hire. Why? Because you will Ace the interview and win the prize.

Suggestion

Would it make you a better hire to improve your skill set, by tripling your present
reading speed and doubling your memory? Good learners follow the Pareto Rule.
We are only 20% of our department, but receive (win) 80% of the promotions.

Does becoming a speed-reader sound boring, something for a kid to learn?

Ask yourself the money question, are you presently fulfilling your heart’s desire
in your career? Then shake up the troops and give the winning interview.

May we encourage you to check out adding these new skills to your repertoire?
We challenge you to ask us how; we are here to help you succeed. Start now.

SpeedReading Rules

See ya,

copyright © 2009 H. Bernard Wechsler

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